Sergej Trifunović ( sr-cyr, Сергеј Трифуновић, ; born 2 September 1972) is a
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
n actor, comedian, singer, politician and
citizen activist.
[Sergej Trifunović profile](_blank)
imdb.com; accessed 28 October 2016.
In 2014, he founded a charity foundation ''Podrži život'' (''Support Life''), that helps underprivileged children with serious medical conditions get adequate treatment. He was the president of the
Movement of Free Citizens from 2019 to 2020.
Early life and education
Sergej was born in
Mostar
Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina.
Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...
,
SR Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Социјалистичка Pепублика Босна и Херцеговина), commonly referred to as Socia ...
,
SFR Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...
to father Tomislav, an actor, and mother Slobodanka, a lawyer. His younger brother,
Branislav Branislav () is a Czech, Croatian, Russian, Slovak, Serbian, Slovene and Ukrainian given name. It also appears in Polish as Bronisław, in Russian as ''Bronislav,'' and Ukrainian as ''Boronyslav.'' The name is derived from the Slavic elements bran ...
, is also an actor.
His father's career made the family move between cities, thus Sergej's early years were spent in Mostar,
Užice
Užice ( sr-cyr, Ужице, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Zlatibor District in western Serbia. It is located on the banks of the river Đetinja. According to the 2022 census, the city proper has a popu ...
,
Kruševac
Kruševac ( sr-Cyrl, Крушевац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina (river), Rasina river. According to the 202 ...
and
Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
.
His father was born in
Mali Popović
Mali Popović is a village in the municipality of Jagodina, Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map ...
near
Jagodina
Jagodina ( sr-cyrl, Јагодина, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Pomoravlje District in central Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Belica (river), Belica River, in the geographical region of � ...
. In 1990, Trifunović enrolled in the Belgrade Faculty of Drama Arts; fellow students included
Nataša Ninković
Nataša Ninković ( sr-Cyrl, Наташа Нинковић; born 22 July 1972) is a Serbian actress, best known for her roles in the films ''Savior'', ''War Live'', '' The Professional'' and '' The Trap''.
Personal life
Ninković was born on 2 ...
,
Vojin Ćetković
Vojin Ćetković ( sr-cyr, Војин Ћетковић; born 22 August 1971) is a Serbian actor. He is best known for his role in the TV series ''Porodično blago''.
Selected filmography Television
Film
Personal life
He is married to Slobod ...
and
Nebojša Glogovac
Nebojša "Glogi" Glogovac ( sr-Cyrl, Небојша Глоговац; 30 August 19699 February 2018) was a Serbian actor, notable for performances in theater, television actor, television and film actor, film.
He was a member of the Children's ...
.
Political career

Trifunović participated in protests against authoritarian regimes under
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...
and
Aleksandar Vučić
Aleksandar Vučić, (born 5 March 1970) is a Serbian politician serving as President of Serbia since 2017. A founding member of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), he previously served as President of the SNS from 2012 to 2023, Deputy Prim ...
. During the
2017 presidential election campaign, he endorsed
Saša Janković
Saša Janković ( sr-cyr, Саша Јанковић, ; born 27 April 1970) is a Serbian lawyer, journalist, human rights activist and politician who served as the National Ombudsman of the Republic of Serbia between 2007 and 2017. He resigned his ...
.
The joint report by
European Economic and Social Committee
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a consultative body of the European Union (EU) established in 1958. It is an advisory assembly composed of representatives from employers' organization, employers' associations, workers' unio ...
and ''Civic Initiatives'' noted that Trifunović and his charity foundation have been targets of a
smear campaign and false accusations by pro-government media and members of ruling parties since 2018.
On January 26, 2019, Trifunović became the 2nd president of
Movement of Free Citizens. After nine months of
protests
A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...
over the rise of political violence and after the unsuccessful conclusion of the negotiation mediated by the
University of Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences
The Faculty of Political Sciences (, abbreviated FPN) is a constituent institution of the University of Belgrade which focuses on education and research in the fields of political science, international relations, journalism and communication stu ...
and NGOs, Trifunović wrote an open letter to
David McAllister
David James McAllister (born 12 January 1971) is a German politician who has been a member of the European Parliament since 2014. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), part of the European People's Party. He is the current vi ...
, the
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
, asking him to consider facilitating a cross-party dialogue on media and election conditions. The first round of inter-party European Parliament-mediated dialogue in Serbia took place two months later. In December 2019, following three rounds of dialogue, the EP delegation members announced that conditions for fair and free elections had not been established. On January 20, 2020, the Movement of Free Citizens announced a
boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...
of the
parliamentary elections
A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...
, however, the decision was later overturned with the Movement of Free Citizens participating in the elections winning 1.58% of the popular vote and failing to pass the census to enter the National Assembly.
On 16 June 2020, Sergej Trifunović published and then deleted the video showing him, along with
Srbijanka Turajlić, singing a
Chetnik
The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...
song, which was followed by heavy criticism on social networks from the
liberal and
leftist
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...
public in Serbia.
On 8 July 2020, at a protest against the government, Trifunović was attacked by the crowd and got his arcade broken. He claims that he was attacked by undercover members of the
Security Intelligence Agency
The Security Intelligence Agency (; abbr. БИА / BIA) is a national security and intelligence agency of Serbia. The agency is responsible for collecting, reporting and disseminating intelligence, and conducting counterintelligence in the interes ...
, and the members of the
Leviathan Movement said that they were there to discredit the protest.
Filmography
Films
TV shows
* ''Lisice''
* ''Crni Gruja''
* ''Bitange i princeze''
* ''Sleeper cell''
* ''Neki čudni ljudi''
* ''Na terapiji''
*''Ono kao ljubav''
*''Montevideo, Bog te video!''
*''Andrija i Anđelka''
*''Crno-bijeli svet''
*''Prvaci sveta''
*''Ubice mog oca''
*''Žigosani u reketu''
*''Dug moru''
*''Ujka - novi Horizonti''
*''Tajne vinove loze''
References
Sources
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trifunovic, Sergej
1972 births
Living people
Serbian male actors
Serbian actor-politicians
Serbian democracy activists
Actors from Mostar
Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Zoran Radmilović Award winners
Politicians from Mostar